The ESL AU&NZ Championship is back with two seasons in 2018 as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive returns bigger and better than ever before while also adding a new title, for the very first time - Dota 2!

It’s been two years, and five seasons since the start of the AU&NZ Championship, and what an exciting journey it has been. Returning in 2018 for two seasons stronger than ever before, we’re excited to announce that our title games will be: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2!

Hold the date - 2018 Season One begins on March 6!

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

In an effort to make a growing format to cater to more of the elite players and teams in the region, we’re excited to announce that our format for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will expand and feature sixteen teams from Australia & New Zealand to compete over an online season of seven weeks.

The online season will feature a round robin stage where teams will be split into two groups of eight and play their opponents over two maps per matchday. At the end of the season, the top four teams from each group will advance to the offline finals in June where eight teams will compete in front of a live audience to determine who will win the lion’s share of the $20,000 prize pool.

Invited Teams:

Athletico Esports

Carnage Esports

Conspiracy Esports

ChiefsESC

Corvidae

Grayhound Gaming

Ground Zero Gaming

Legacy Esports

Lucky7Gaming

ex-Masterminds

ORDER

Riotous

SSU Esports

Tainted Minds

Didn’t make the list of invited teams? Don’t fret, all teams will have an opportunity to compete in the National Championships for Season One with two open qualifiers. Each open qualifier will run a single elimination best-of-one bracket, with a best-of-three final. The team who comes out on top of each qualifier will make their way to the sixteen team Season One League!

Dota 2

Following our teaser announcement at the ESL Stage at PAX Arena 2017, we’re incredibly excited to announce Dota2 as an official title for the ESL AU&NZ Championship 2018 season.

Commencing from Tuesday, the 6th of March, 2018 - teams of all skill and ability will be able to enter and compete across four open cups with the top two teams from each cup progressing through to an online finals series. From the online finals, the top four teams will be invited to compete at the season finals in June where they will play off in front of a live audience to determine who will take the greater share of the $10,000 prize pool.

Invited Teams:

Open Cup #1: Tuesday, 6th of March, 2018

Open Cup #2: Tuesday, 13th of March, 2018

Open Cup #3: Tuesday, 20th of March, 2018

Open Cup #4: Tuesday, 27th of March, 2018

Online Finals: Tuesday, 10th/17th of April, 2018

Season Finals: June, 2018

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